Star-Ledger file photoThe state Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday over whether or not a mother couldbe charged with neglect if a newborn has drugs in its system.

Mothers-to-be beware. If you do illegal drugs before you give birth, you may be charged with neglect if the state Supreme Court upholds earlier rulings.

The case is before the court now. A woman gave birth in 2007 and when her baby's stool tested positive for cocaine, she was charged with neglect by the Department of Children and Families.

Her lawyer, Clara Licata, is arguing that tests did not show the level of cocaine in the infant's system. Her point is this: There's no way to prove that the baby was imperiled or suffered adverse effects. ¶

``This was not proof that the child was, quote, on cocaine when he was born,'' Licata told the court, the Associated Press reported. ¶

Licata argued that New Jersey law does not extend to unborn children; if the Legislature intended it to, she said, the text would make specific references to fetuses. She said the state didn't show any evidence that the child was harmed by the positive test. ¶

Lawrence S. Lustberg, who filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women and dozens of medical, women's and children's groups, told the justices that the state didn't show social science or medical evidence that prenatal exposure to cocaine causes adverse effects. ¶

The fact that a woman is engaged in conduct that people might not approve of isn't a predictor of future harm to her child, Lustberg argued. ¶

``There was no indication that there was future risk of harm,'' Lustberg said. ¶

James D. Harris, a deputy attorney general representing the Department of Children and Family Services, said using illegal drugs while pregnant is reckless. He said that abuse and neglect cases often hinge on risk, and drug use is a huge risk factor for an unsafe home. ¶

``We would rather come in at the red flag of risk rather than after actual harm has occurred,'' Harris said. ¶